What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, Online Access

What We Believe

The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, Online Access

By Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Sarah Swafford, Dr. Andrew Swafford

Part of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith

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Discover the Amazing Riches of the Catholic Faith

The What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith Online Access provides access to all ten video sessions for this study. Online Access also includes a digital workbook.

Over ten engaging sessions, you will explore what Catholics truly believe through topics such as:

The Journey of Faith
God the Father, Creation, and the Fall
The Church

What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith unpacks the beauty and the richness of the Catholic Church whether you’ve been Catholic your entire life or you’re just beginning to explore the Catholic Faith.

Led by Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Dr. Andrew Swafford, and Sarah Swafford, this program will help you understand the Church’s call to believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the source of all life and salvation.

Note: Purchase of online access grants immediate access to the study videos and workbook for one year. If you've already purchased access, view the study online here.

What-We-Believe-Sample-Chapter.pdf PDF

SKU: 810155344696
Format: Online course
Language: English
Series: What We Believe
Publisher: Ascension
Ecclesiastical Designation: Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur
Publication Date: Jun 06, 2022
Copyright Year: 2022

Contributors

Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio

Author

Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio (“Dr. Italy”) received his Ph.D. in historical theology from The Catholic University of America under the direction of Avery Cardinal Dulles and has had a prolific career as a Catholic author, internationally-respected speaker, pilgrimage leader, and university professor. He is the Co-founder and Director of The Crossroads Initiative, the author of five books and hundreds of articles, and a regular guest on both secular and Catholic TV and radio programs.

In 2004, Dr. D’Ambrosio co-authored the New York Times bestseller A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about The Passion of the Christ with Ascension founder Matt Pinto. In 2019, Dr. D’Ambrosio published the groundbreaking Bible study on the life of Jesus Christ filmed in the Holy Land, Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life, presenting alongside Jeff Cavins and Dr. Edward Sri. In 2022, he became the co-author and co-presenter of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, together with Dr. Andrew Swafford and Sarah Swafford, and in 2025 was announced as a co-presenter of the groundbreaking Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and Dr. Edward Sri.

Dr. D’Ambrosio is currently teaches for the Catholic International University (formerly known as Catholic Distance University). He has previously been on faculty at the Loyola College in Maryland as well as the University of Dallas.

Dr. D’Ambrosio and his wife Susan reside in Dallas, Texas, where they frequently spend time with their many children and grandchildren.

Sarah Swafford

Author

Sarah Swafford is the founder of Emotional Virtue Ministries. She speaks internationally on a variety of topics including faith, relationships, and interior confidence. Engaging audiences of all ages, Sarah shares her message at school assemblies, retreats, rallies, parishes, and conferences around the world including FOCUS and Steubenville Conferences in the United States and Canada.

Sarah is a well-known author on dating and relationships and is cohost of an EWTN series on the same topic. She is also a contributor to Chosen, Ascension’s Confirmation program. In 2022, Sarah became a co-presenter in What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, together with her husband, Dr. Andrew Swafford, and Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio. In 2023, Sarah and her husband also published Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships.

Both Sarah and Andrew are available for speaking engagements and can be contacted through their website, The Swaffords.

Sarah resides in Atchison, Kansas with her wonderful husband and their children: Thomas, Fulton, Cate, Kolbe, John Paul, and Avila.

Dr. Andrew Swafford

Author

Dr. Andrew Swafford is professor of theology at Benedictine College and a national speaker on a variety of Catholic topics including Sacred Scripture, St. John Paul II, and the moral life. Together with Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, he is co-author of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith and co-host of Ascension’s video series under the same title, filmed at 30 holy sites in Rome. With his wife, Sarah, Dr. Swafford is also co-author of Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships. He is also the general editor of, and a contributor to, Ascension’s best-selling Great Adventure Catholic Bible and the Catholic Guide to the Old and New Testaments (2 volumes).

Among Dr. Swafford’s other publications are Ascension’s Bible studies on Romans and Hebrews. Dr. Swafford holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake and a master’s degree in Old Testament and Semitic Languages from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Dr. Swafford is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Academy of Catholic Theology, and is a featured fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Both he and Sarah are available for speaking engagements and can be contacted via Twitter or their website, The Swaffords.

Dr. Swafford is an avid student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and lives with his wife Sarah and their six children in Atchison, KS.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Ascension Bible Studies

Who can I reach out to with additional questions?

If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-376-0520, chat with us by clicking on the chat to the right, or email support@ascensionpress.com

Can I stream my study videos on a Smart TV?

Thinkific may have issues streaming on Smart TVs. This is because Smart TV web browsers differ from standard computer browsers, and Thinkific does not support Chromium, which is the browser system used by most Smart TVs.

If you are having trouble loading videos on your Smart TV, you can try connecting a laptop or desktop computer to your TV using an HDMI cable and playing the videos from your computer. Many customers have found this to work well.

If you prefer to use AirPlay or screencasting from a mobile device, this may also work, as long as both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Unfortunately, Ascension is not able to troubleshoot issues related to individual Smart TVs or casting devices.

Do I need DVDs to run a study in person?

There are three ways your group could view the study videos:

You could watch the videos on DVD, gathered as a group.
You could watch the videos streaming from our Thinkific website, gathered as a group.
Each person could purchase the online access and watch the videos independently at home on the Thinkific website.

We strongly recommend purchasing the DVDs for in-person group viewing because this is usually the easiest method for volunteer leaders to manage and because the DVD sets can be reused later by other Bible study groups in your parish.

Does the online study access expire?

Online access to our studies do expire after one year (or two years, if you are using The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation, Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or Matthew: The King and His Kingdom). This access begins from the day you purchase your online access, or from the day you set up your access (if you are using a group enrollment link given to you from your small group leader).

How do I access the all-digital online course after I purchase?

After you purchase a product that includes access, check your inbox for an email from our partner Thinkific. In order to access your online study, you will receive a link in that email to create a free account with Thinkific and access your study.

You will then be able to access your online study at ascensionpress.thinkific.com.

(Note that if you have already created a Thinkific account through Ascension, you will not need to create a new one, but will then receive a link to access your online study directly.)

If you purchased multiple online course enrollments for your small group, you'll receive an email the day of your purchase with a link which you can then forward to your students. With this link, each student can create their account and access their online course.

Will I need a workbook to complete a study?

The workbook is an integral part of the study, containing reflection and discussion questions. To get the most out of the study, we recommend each participant have a Bible, his or her own workbook, and for studies that include an additional reading book, we encourage a copy of that as well.

What study materials will my group and I need?

You can choose the study materials that best fit how you plan to journey through the study!

If you are leading a small group, we recommend purchasing the program’s Starter Pack for yourself, along with a Study Set/Workbook and Online Access for each participant.

If you are journeying through the study on your own, we recommend purchasing a Study Set/Workbook and Online Access for yourself.

In addition, we recommend that everyone have a Catholic Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church. We recommend the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition and The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, which incorporates the same color-coded learning system used throughout our studies.

Can I download and print out the digital workbook from a study?

Our online edition of a study includes a digital copy of your workbook. This workbook is in a read-only format, and therefore cannot be printed out as this is a violation of copyright and intellectual property law. This version of the workbook is also unable to save student responses.

If you would prefer a printed copy of your workbook and have ordered the online-only option in error, please contact us with your order number and we will be able to help you set up your order for the printed materials instead!

5 stars: 5 (83%)
4 stars: 1 (17%)
3 stars: 0 (0%)
2 stars: 0 (0%)
1 star: 0 (0%)

I Do Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith

I think this study is just what I needed and our group needed. Our group is made of 30 year olds through 70 year old women, will all varying thoughts and on varying journeys of faith. For me, it affirmed my faith and what I believe as a Catholic. I learned a lot about myself, why I am a leader for this group, why have taken action as a group leader all these years, its because I love God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This Study has been a great journey for me, I have a better understanding of what I am to do to get to heaven. That is my goal. The hosts were amazing and I enjoyed the format of the study. Thank. you!!! I highly recommend this Study for all Catholics in the world.

What WE Believe

Very informative

Great study

This brings home all the doctrine we have been following since grade school.

Wonderful for joining the Catholic faith

Our Church used this course for the OCIA process. It is wonderfully concise and provides multiple ways to learn the most important topics. There are 10 sessions. Each session includes a beautifully performed video, an online workbook to explain the core topics and a broader book to provide more detail and meaning behind the topics. There is also a visual chart which summarizes the keys for each session. There are a few questions at the end of each session to reinforce the learnings. The questions often reference specific bible readings and/or catechism paragraphs. This online study course is excellent and quickly brings you up to speed if you want to become Catholic and deepen your faith overall.

Great content, high level thinking

I enjoyed doing this study and I learned a lot about the reasoning that informed our Catholic teachings. There was so much information to take in. The wording in the book is somewhat intense. I had to read things several times to understand what they were saying. I want to do it again to get more out of it.

Fantastic resource

Wonderful program with some interesting discussions and marvellous locations. Simple explanations of some of the basic tenet of the faith with bible and catechism material to support.
I love the on-line access as I can work through the materials at my own pace.